


Fireflies and Constellations

by shortstoriesandthelike



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Domestic, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Firebending & Firebenders, Flashbacks, Friendship, Head Injury, Holding Hands, Memories, Minor Character Death, Protectiveness, Rescue, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26702872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shortstoriesandthelike/pseuds/shortstoriesandthelike
Summary: Ushi is from the Earth Kingdom.  The war has been raging for fifteen years, and his little village sees refugees nearly every day.  He’s learned to hate the Fire Nation.  Hotaru is a nomad.  She has been traveling since her father took her and fled the Fire Nation when she was a baby.  They are supposed to hate each other, but maybe the other side isn’t so bad after all.This story takes place about fifteen years after the war started, and it is told from the perspectives of two OCs.
Relationships: OMC/OFC
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	Fireflies and Constellations

Hotaru walked through the woods without a destination in mind. This is how she had traveled for years. When her father was alive, they would travel until they reached a village where they could stop for a few days. They would rest and meet the people of those towns, then they would continue on. These days, she only ever stayed in a village long enough to get provisions, then she continued traveling. She didn’t find joy in stopping in villages anymore.

She thought back to one of the earliest memories she had. She and her father were nearing an Earth Kingdom town. There was a festival that night. It was blurry, but it was one of her favorite memories. Hotaru had always loved the Earth Kingdom before her father’s death. 

~~~

“Come on, firefly, I bet I can beat you to the village!”

Her father started a light jog as she, at four years old, ran as fast as she could. Her father let up at the end so she would win.

“You did it, lightning bug!” her father laughed and picked her up, placing her on his shoulders. She laughed as they made their way through the crowded streets. The festival was beautiful with lanterns and colored flags. 

Her father stopped at one of the stalls to play a carnival game. He won her a toy turtle duck.

~~~

She reminisced as she walked for a while until she heard a rustling sound. She stopped walking, one hand immediately resting on the dagger at her hip. She waited, listening. The sound was approaching her trail. She peered through the dense collection of trees and she saw three men cutting through branches as they walked. They were getting closer to her. She didn’t want a confrontation, so she decided to slowly and quietly move in the opposite direction. As she moved, her foot caught on a large branch and she fell. She closed her eyes, praying they didn’t hear her, but the man cutting down the branches stopped.

“Did you hear that?” one man asked.

'Please keep walking. Please keep walking. Please keep-' Hotaru’s thoughts were cut off by approaching footsteps.

The trees covering her path were pushed aside and the man looked at her with a wicked grin.

“Look what we got here, boys,” he said with pseudo sympathy as the other two men approached her. “It looks like someone got lost in the woods.”

Hotaru slowly stood up, heart hammering, mind racing. She could hold her own in a fight, her father taught her everything she needed to know in order to survive on her own, but she couldn’t fight all three of them at once.

“Please, I-I’m just passing through,” she said meekly, hoping they would take pity on her and let her go.

“Hold on there, sweetheart, what’s a poor little thing like you doing out here all on your own?” he said, taking a step closer to her.

She turned and ran. She heard the three men following her, but she didn’t turn around to look. She screamed when she felt one of them grab her arm.

———

Ushi practiced earthbending every chance he got. He saw what the Fire Nation did to people, and he couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Refugees came to his village every day having lost their homes, their families, their hope. He wanted to be as much help in the war effort as he could, which meant perfecting his craft. He wasn’t a skilled earthbender yet, but he was determined. It also helped him relieve stress. There had been multiple robberies in his village in the last few days, and he felt like he failed in protecting his people. 

He and his best friend were training by the edge of the woods when he heard it. He paused in his training and his friend looked at him in confusion. 

“What is it?” his friend asked.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“I just…” Ushi shook his head and said, “I thought I heard someone scream.”

He paused a moment longer but heard nothing. They had just continued training when he heard the scream again. He didn’t hesitate this time. He ran into the woods to find the person in distress.

“Ushi!” he heard his friend distantly call, but he didn’t care. Someone was in trouble.

———

Hotaru broke free from the man’s grip and ran as fast as she could. She looked behind her to see how far behind they were- a good few paces. She looked forward again just as she ran into a boy. He had been running as well, and he caught and steadied her as she stumbled backwards a few steps.

“Are you okay?” the boy frantically asked.

“I-“ Hotaru wasn’t able to finish her sentence as the three men caught up to her.

Hotaru worriedly looked between the three men who were chasing her and the boy she just ran into. The boy pushed her behind himself and pulled out a sword.

“Who are you?” the boy asked sternly as he pointed his sword at the men.

“Aww, look how cute. He wants to play hero,” the man who seemed to be the leader said condescendingly. The men also drew their weapons. 

Hotaru saw the boy get visibly nervous, but he didn’t back down.

“Who are you?” the boy repeated, harsher this time.

“Listen, boy, we’re not lookin’ to hurt anybody,” the man said with a placating gesture that contradicted his tone, “Why don’t you two give us your bags, and we’ll forget about this and be on our way, nobody needs to get hurt.”

The boy furrowed his eyebrows as an expression of recognition passed over his face.

“You’re the thieves that stole from my people!” the boy accused. 

Like a switch, the boy turned livid. Before the thieves had time to respond, the boy lunged at them, ready to attack them.

Hotaru saw her opportunity to flee. She took a few steps into the cover of the trees, but something stopped her. This boy was willing to put himself in danger to protect her, a stranger. Suddenly one of the men knocked the sword from his hand. After losing his weapon he stumbled backwards a few steps. A moment passed where he seemed unsure of what to do. He seemed to make up his mind as he took an offensive stance and started attempting to bend the earth around him. He was starting to be successful, but that was short lived as the earth fell back to its original place. The men chuckled condescending at him and took a few steps forward. That’s when Hotaru made up her mind and took a step towards them. Her instincts told her to run, but when she saw the boy defenseless, she couldn’t stop herself from intervening. 

“Hey!” she shouted and pulled out her dagger. And suddenly all the attention was on her. This gave the boy enough time to pick up his sword and catch the leader off guard. Two of the thieves went back to fighting him while one focused on Hotaru. 

The fight continued. Hotaru and the boy were able to hold their own with little difficulty, until the boy was slashed across the arm and hit over the head hard enough to send him to the ground, barely able to stay conscious.

“No!” Hotaru shouted, unsure why she felt so strongly for this boy she didn’t even know.

Hotaru ran over to the boy and stood steadfastly in front of him as the three men moved closer. She was clearly outnumbered, and she knew what she had to do. Her father taught her to use her gift only in the most dire situations, that it was dangerous and unpredictable, that people will not always react kindly to it. In a smooth movement, Hotaru sent fire towards all three men.

The men unnecessarily shielded their faces- Hotaru sent the fire as a warning, a promise of what would come if they continued to fight. They stood there in shock.

“You… You’re Fire Nation scum!” one man accused. He took a menacing step forward, but stopped after seeing the small flame Hotaru was producing. 

The three men looked at each other then ran into the forest.

Content that they wouldn’t return, Hotaru turned back to the boy, who was now unconscious on the ground.

———

Ushi was surprised that the girl hadn’t fled, and he was even more surprised at how well she could fight. 

They were both fighting well until he was disarmed and knocked to the ground. He thought he was finished, that this man would kill him. He was surprised to see the girl stand in front of him. He was struggling to keep his eyes open after the blow to the head, desperate to get back to his feet. She was outnumbered, and he didn’t want to watch this girl die trying to protect him. He was just as surprised as the thieves to see her firebend. He was filled with a strange emotion that he couldn’t quite place in his rattled state. He finally lost the battle with his heavy eyes, and he let himself fall asleep.

———

Hotaru was worried for the boy. She had basic first aid supplies in her bag, but she was no healer. She wrapped his arm where it had been slashed after disinfecting the cut, but she didn’t know how to take care of a head injury. She just prayed that he would wake up soon, and that he had lost consciousness before she had firebent. 

He wasn’t unconscious for very long before his eyes slowly opened. It took him a minute to regain his bearings, but then he quickly sat up. He winced from the head rush but didn’t lie back down. 

He looked at Hotaru and accusingly said, “You’re a firebender!”

“I am,” Hotaru responded lamely after a moment. She was unsure of how to proceed. She had never been in this situation before.

“What are you even doing out here? This is Earth Kingdom territory!” the boy was growing increasingly angrier.

“I’m a nomad. I travel,” she responded shortly, growing irritated with this boy.

“You’re from the Fire Nation!” the boy yelled.

“I’ve never lived in the Fire Nation. I’ve been a nomad my whole life,” Hotaru responded as calmly as she could.

The boy didn’t seem to hear her, “Do you have any idea how much suffering your people have caused? I see people in my village every day, terrified of the things your people have done to them!”

“They are not my people!” Hotaru yelled, unable to control her temper any longer, “You think I don’t know what they do? You think you’re the only one who’s been affected by this war? I’ve suffered at their hands too! They killed my mother!”

There was a deafening silence.

“You’re still a fire bender,” the boy said weakly.

“What? Do you think all earthbenders are pure of heart?” Hotaru responded. 

“Earthbenders aren’t trying to destroy the world,” he replied.

“Why do you think I’m a nomad?” she asked, frustrated, “If I agreed with them, I would have a home! If I agreed with them, I would have a family!”

“I still don’t trust you. You’re a firebender,” he reiterated 

“Well you’re an earthbender, and I haven’t really been able to trust you guys either.”

Ushi didn’t know how to respond to her cryptic revelation, so he said nothing, but he kept this at the back of his mind. This break in their bickering allowed him to remember the splitting headache he had. 

“Ow,” he said as he held his head where he had been hit.

Argument temporarily forgotten, Hotaru moved to help him lie back down, but he refused. 

“I should return home. My mother is a healer.”

Hotaru did not like this boy, but she didn’t want him to travel alone, and he did get injured while trying to protect her. She felt partly responsible for him.

“I’ll help you,” she offered.

Ushi wanted to refuse, but as he tried to stand, his vision started swimming.

“Thank you,” he said instead.

They walked in uncomfortable silence. Ushi leaning on Hotaru for support when he felt dizzy until they made it to the village. Ushi led them toward his home and led her inside. He called out for his mother, and she met them at the door, immediately bombarding him with questions.

“Ushi! Your friend came by asking for you, he said you ran off! Where have you been? What happened?” his mother said, barely stopping for a breath. 

'Ushi,' she thought. She realized she hadn’t known the boy’s name until that moment.

“It’s a long story, mom,” Ushi responded as his mother led him to a bed to lie down. 

Hotaru felt uncomfortable. She was unsure if she should leave or stay to make sure the boy was okay. She was about to leave when Ushi’s mother returned to the main room.

“Hello, dear! I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name in all the commotion,” she said smiling. 

“Oh uh, I’m Hotaru,” she said awkwardly. 

“Do you live around here? I don’t think I’ve seen you around,” she asked, brows drawn together trying to remember if she recognized Hotaru.

“Oh, no, I’m just passing through,” she responded. She felt uncomfortable, she hadn’t had many conversations like this, where she had to talk about herself, “I just wanted to make sure he made it home alright. I should get going.” 

She started to turn to leave but Ushi’s mother gently grabbed her arm.

“No, please, stay for dinner,” she insisted.

“I don’t want to impose,” Hotaru said, again turning to leave.

“Please, we have plenty of food,” she said earnestly.

Hotaru couldn’t say no to her kind eyes, so instead she said, “Thank you.” 

———

Ushi lay in the bed. He could feel his head pounding, but his mother had given him something for the pain, hopefully it started working soon. He could hear his mother and the girl talking outside his room, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. He tried to keep his eyes open, but eventually he fell asleep.

———

Hotaru helped Ushi’s mother prepare dinner. She had never done this before. It was nice. She imagined what it would be like to do this with her own mother, but she had no memory of what her mother looked like. She found herself remembering the story of what happened to her mother that her father told her when he decided that she was old enough to hear the truth. 

~~~

“Your mother loved you very much, Hotaru.” 

She knew this was going to be a serious conversation when he used her given name instead of his usual nicknames. 

“When you were just a baby, Fire Lord Sozin declared war on the world. He said it was to share our prosperity, but we quickly realized that was not his intention. Your mother and I decided that we wanted to leave the Fire Nation, but this was easier said than done. We packed only the essentials and left at nightfall. We were careful, but a guard stopped us just at the edge of town. The war had just started and there was a curfew. We tried to run for the cover of the forest, but the guard was determined to stop us. I held you close to me as we ran, but he caught your mother. I turned around in time to see him…She was gone. I had to keep going. I couldn’t risk losing you too.”

The silence between them was deafening. The only sound was the crackle of the fire between them.

~~~

“Will you cut these up, dear?” 

Hotaru was startled back into the present. Ushi’s mother was handing her a bundle of vegetables.

“Yes, sorry, I must have been lost in thought,” she said as she took the vegetables to the cutting board.

———

Ushi awoke a while later to the smell of food. He stood up, head hurting significantly less, and made his way into the kitchen. 

He was surprised to see that firebender still in his house.

“What are you still doing here?” He asked, interrupting their conversation.

“Ushi, where are your manners?” his mother asked, appalled, “Hotaru brought you safely home, and I asked her to stay for dinner.”

“Oh,” was the only thing he could think to say. He realized he didn’t know the girl’s name until that moment. 

“Why don’t you set the table, Ushi.” 

He set the table as his mother and that firebender- Hotaru- his mind corrected, brought out the food.

As they began eating his mother said, “You never did tell me what happened to you, Ushi.”

He looked up, frozen for a moment. His mother worried about him too much as it is, he couldn’t tell her that he took on three armed thieves. She would never let him leave the house again.

“Uh… I…”

“He saved me,” Hotaru said.

He looked over to her, begging her with his eyes not to say anything, but she didn’t look over at him.

“I was lost and wandered into a saber-tooth moose lion den. He pulled me out, but he fell and hit his head as we escaped.”

Ushi stared for a moment in shock. He blinked a few times then looked over as his mother gasped.

“You need to be more careful, Ushi!” 

I looked over to Hotaru again, but she was looking down at her food.

———  
Hotaru could see that Ushi didn’t want his mother to know the truth. She did her best to come up with a convincing story that didn’t involve too much danger.

After that, dinner passed uneventfully. She helped wash the dishes, and she enjoyed all the domestic tasks she was never able to do before.

“It’s getting late, Hotaru. Why don’t you stay the night? We have an extra bedroom,” Ushi’s mother asked.

She wanted to say no. She had spent too much time here already. But it was getting cold outside, and she was enjoying her time here.

“Okay, thank you,” She answered.

Ushi’s mother showed her to her room, and she put her bag down on the bed.

“Why did you do that?”

Hotaru jumped and turned around. Ushi was standing in the doorway.

Regaining her composure, she asked, “Do what?”

“Why did you lie about how I got hurt?”

“I could tell you didn’t want her to know the truth.”

“Yeah, but why did you help me.”

Hotaru stopped for a moment, eyebrows scrunching in thought. 

“I don’t know.” She said honestly, “Why did you help me?”

“But that’s different,” He said getting frustrated, but Hotaru wasn’t sure if he was frustrated at her or himself, “I ran off to save a stranger, you helped me after I was horrible to you!”

There was silence for a moment. 

“I understand that people won’t always accept me because of who I am.”

There was silence again.

“I’m sorry,” Ushi said honestly, “You stayed to fight when you could’ve run away. You saved me when I was going to die. You helped me get home, and I’ve been horrible to you about being… about being a firebender.” He seemed to struggle to get those words out.

“I forgive you,” she said, and she really meant it.

For the fist time, there was a comfortable silence between them.

“Hey, let me show you something,” Ushi said suddenly, then turned to walk down the hallway.

Hotaru followed him outside, and he pulled an old table next to the house as she watched on in confusion. Ushi lifted himself onto the table and climbed onto the roof of the small house. He turned around and smiled at her, holding out a hand to help her up. She followed him and sat next to him on the roof. 

“This is the best spot to watch the stars,” Ushi said.

They sat and watched the night sky in silence for a long time.

“What did you mean earlier? When you said you couldn’t trust earthbenders,” Ushi asked a long while later.

“What?”

“When we were arguing in the woods, you said you couldn’t trust earthbenders. Why?”

“Oh,” Hotaru said, uncomfortable now, “earthbenders killed my father.”

“Oh,” Ushi said, uncomfortable now too, “I’m sorry.”

Hotaru said nothing as she was brought back to that day.

~~~

She was ten years old. They were in a forest in the Earth Kingdom. It had rained that morning and they couldn’t find any dry firewood. Her father produced a small flame to keep them warm. 

“You’re fire bending!”

They both turned around at the sound. It was two people from the nearby town.

“It’s not what it looks like!” Her father said, standing in front of her.

“I know what I saw,” the man said, quickly bending a large rock toward them.

Her father pushed her out of the way, but he was trapped under the rock.

“Dad!” she cried.

“Run, firefly!”

“But-“

“Go!”

She hesitated for a moment, then ran further into the woods. She ran as far as she could before collapsing on the ground. Tears started streaming down her face. She cried until she fell asleep from the exhaustion. 

When she awoke the next morning, it took her a moment to remember what had happened the night before. She quickly stood up and ran back to the campsite.

“Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay,” she murmured to herself as she ran.

She reached their campsite and froze in horror.

“No,” she whispered, shaking her head as tears started to fall, “No.”

She hesitantly moved closer to her father’s body, still trapped under the rock from the night before, but much bloodier. 

“No!” she shouted.

She started sobbing, sitting on the ground next to her father’s body.

~~~

“Hotaru?”

“What?” she said, shaking her head as she realized he had said something to her.

“I just asked if you were okay.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” she said. 

He looked uncertainly at her, so she leaned back so she was lying down, looking straight up at the stars. When he just kept staring, she grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down too.

“That’s Andromeda,” she said after a moment, pointing at the sky.

“What?”

“The constellation.”

“Oh. Where?”

“You see those four stars that make a square?” She said, pointing to the stars.

“Yeah.”

“Andromeda is the two lines of stars coming off of it, just there,” she pointed again so he could follow.

“Oh, I see it!”

She smiled at his excitement.

They fell into a comfortable silence as they watched the stars together. After some time, while still looking up at the night sky, Ushi reached over and took Hotaru’s hand in his. She looked down at their hands, then to Ushi, but he stared determinedly up at the stars. She smiled and looked back to the sky as well. Eventually, they fell asleep on the roof together, and they stayed there, with their hands interlocked, until morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! This is the first story that I've published so I would really appreciate any feedback!


End file.
